Talking Malaysia With Jimmy Choo OBE

Choo is softly-spoken has the calm confidence of a man who has achieved much in life. He is slightly built and smartly dressed. His greying hair is closely cropped and he looks at me with reassuring eyes that are surprisingly light in colour.
Continue reading...

How Social Media Will Cure Voter Apathy

Presently, social media is a tool that benefits liberal parties more than conservative ones. The reason is partially the age gap - Labour voters tend to be younger than Tory ones - and partially down to the very nature of the political landscape.
Continue reading...

Hamid Karzai Is Only Saying What Soldiers Have Known for Years

Karzai's argument that the UK troop increase in Helmand in 2006 created today's insecurity will sting politicians, but what he says is true. I remember the events clearly; I was in Afghanistan at the time.
Continue reading...

A One-Sided Date With the Inquisitive Guy I Couldn't Say No To

I thrive on flirtation on dates; it's the plutonium I need to get me to the end of the night. From him, however, there is none. Usually I'd put this down to nervousness or shyness, but that's not the case here. He exudes a kind of bland confidence; he's not brash or assertive, just, well, a bit boring.
Continue reading...

There's No Such Thing as 'Traditional Marriage'

It was a relief for me that the Commons voted so strongly in favour of gay marriage - not because I'd like to marry a woman - but for peace of mind that our politicians have not been time warped along with Richard III. The so-called traditionalists, who claimed that allowing gay marriage would alter centuries of marital custom, don't know what they are talking about. The form and purpose of marriage is constantly being reinvented.
Continue reading...

In Search of Some Decent Sunglasses

Good sunglasses and el cheapo fashion ones you get on the High Street (or, worse, festival stalls) are worlds apart. I never believed in 'proper' sunglasses, preferring to chop and change between throwaway fashion pairs, until I fell in love with some Chanel frames.
Continue reading...

It's not a matter of the players being too young, it's their sudden integration into the first team that has reaped the damage. It's simply a matter of trying to usher in a new era prematurely, long before the players could build their confidence. Lambert has tried to run before he could walk.
Continue reading...

How Tony Blair and Iraq Robbed a Generation of Their Faith in Politics

Like hundreds of teenagers who didn't make the real thing, students at my school hastily arranged their own small protest, marching through our small rural town chanting and playing anti-war music. We must have looked pathetic, but we didn't care. We were adding a cry to a national roar that made the hairs on the back of our necks stand up.
Continue reading...

A Family Hurting Each Other Publicly and the Psychology of Revenge

The extraordinary texts and phone conversations between former Lib Dem MP Chris Huhne and his son, which have been widely reported, are difficult to comprehend. Do the latest findings from the psychology of revenge provide an insight into a family hurting each other so publicly?
Continue reading...

The stunning production belies itself immediately, studios of the 90s just couldn't capture sound this well, and from the get go, beneath the maelstrom, the voices have that slight weathered thinness that age brings.
Continue reading...

A Snapshot of Migrant Reality: What the Romanian Migrants Really Think

Behind the political discourses, the media headlines, the highly-frantic speeches and the amusing campaign, it is easy to forget that we are dealing with human beings whose lived experiences cannot be reduced to mere statistics or neat caricatures.
Continue reading...

We Must Do All We Can to Encourage the Restless

I am delighted that the Huffington Post UK is launching its new Young Talent page. I am sure it will become essential reading for young entrepreneurs, the restless spirits looking for sage advice. I know it will be valuable for me to get a window on your world, and the challenges you face.
Continue reading...

A Celebration of Young Talents

We're looking for 16 to 25-year-olds who think they've got something to shout about, or who think they're onto an idea with the power to change the world, bring fresh perspective to timeless challenges, or simply start a conversation. Whether it's a video of your latest song cover, a picture of your artwork, or a business idea, we want to be the place you go to share it.
Continue reading...

Fat Loss, Diet, Hormones and Your Health

Where you store fat is the key to understanding your hormones. This in turn reveals how you should eat, train, and live to have optimal body composition and, ultimately, be as healthy as possible.
Continue reading...

Children of Syria: Witnessing Pockets of Hope in the Midst of Turmoil

I walked around to see how children in Homs are living. In a convent that works with children, situated at the end of a line of fully standing buildings and right before the destruction and rubble begins, I was amazed to find children reading books, listening to teachers, drawing pictures and playing games. The drawings on the walls spoke of smiling faces, waving hands, laughter and messages about the need to forgive. A total contrast to the rubble outside that represents so many battered lives.
Continue reading...

Why I Supported the Gay Marriage Bill

The Commons voted by a substantial majority in support of allowing gay marriage on 5 February. I am glad that over 130 Conservative colleagues voted for the bill and I understand why some did not, given the outright hostility to the measure among some groups in society who are over represented (statistically speaking) among Conservative Party membership.
Continue reading...

Compulsory Microchipping: Don't Pop the Corks Just Yet...

This was the government's opportunity to finally tackle the big issues, but instead we believe they have merely tinkered with the existing legislation rather than make the comprehensive reform of dog laws that is so desperately needed.
Continue reading...

Talking Malaysia With Jimmy Choo OBE

Choo is softly-spoken has the calm confidence of a man who has achieved much in life. He is slightly built and smartly dressed. His greying hair is closely cropped and he looks at me with reassuring eyes that are surprisingly light in colour.
Continue reading...

A Tale of Two Airports - LAX International Terminal Gets a Long Awaited Facelift

Having flown in and out of Los Angeles airport's international terminal on numerous occasions, I found the lack of variety of eateries and shopping surprising. So I am looking forward to the opening and to the improvement of my travel experience.
Continue reading...

Revisit, Review And Revamp Your Business Routine Regularly

Routine is a funny old thing. Nobody wants to fall in to a bad one, but we all know that a routine is needed to achieve goals. The trick to making sure your routine doesn't fall flat on its face is to reassess and rework it regularly. It's important in...
Continue reading...

Love And Its Opponents: The Riddle of the Catholic Church's Stance On Gay Marriage

There's a beautiful story in the Old Testament about two young men who meet and fall in love. Jonathan and David dedicate themselves to each other before their God in what is described as a covenant using words of great ceremony.
Continue reading...

Reading Between the Lines: Why Eurozone Improvement Is Being Ignored

Rising demand for German goods, an improving business climate and stability in Spanish housing should have given markets cause for celebration. However, after the substantial rally we've seen, and the headwinds yet to be tackled within the region, caution has crept back into markets.
Continue reading...

Treating Mental Ill Health - All Eyes to Accra

Sitting on the edge of a self-help group meeting, Atta Kwabena talks openly via a translator about his experience of suffering mental health problems in Accra. His journey through mental illness so far has lasted twelve years.
Continue reading...

Are Food and Drinks Companies Feeding Us Nonsense?

Strangely enough, according to some commentators, the health impacts of this scandal could actually have been positive, with the lean horsemeat making the burgers healthier. But somehow I don't think this was done with our health in mind.
Continue reading...

The Times They Are a Changin'

Many young Republicans including 'Log Cabin Republicans' (a gay and lesbian Republican affiliated group) are pushing their party from within to drop their intolerant views. Unlike this week's vote in the UK parliament, the recognition of gay marriage is not something that would be likely to originate in the US Congress.
Continue reading...

Financial Education Should Be Part of the National Curriculum

Schools should equip children with intellectual learning and skills for life outside the school gates. One of the most important and practical skills throughout life - and one of the keys to a prosperous adulthood - is the ability to manage money competently.
Continue reading...

NHS and the Shrinking Definition of Medical Need

What concerns me is the widening definition of PCLV to include proven operations known to enhance health and improve quality of life. Many of the procedures now deemed 'low value' are actually those which prevent complications and more serious conditions developing later in life.
Continue reading...

Gay Marriage Vote: A Victory for Love and Equality

This is a resounding, historic victory for love and equality. We are on the cusp of ending the last major legal discrimination against gay people. This vote for equal marriage is the culmination of the struggle for homosexual equality that I and others began in the 1960s. We are nearly there.
Continue reading...

I Saw This and Thought of You

I'm frequently asked about the best ways to keep in touch with your network, particularly when our schedules are so tightly packed. There are a number of approaches that make up an effective relationship-building strategy, including one to one meetings and proactive use of social media.
Continue reading...

Equal Marriage Is a Big Boost for Transgender Couples - But We're Not There Yet

For the last nine years, many transgender people in the UK have faced a terrible dilemma. In 2004 the Gender Recognition Act was passed. This piece of legislation allowed transgender people rights in law to be recognised as their identified gender. This is more important than you might initially think.
Continue reading...

International Day for Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation: How Do We Make It a Day of Hope?

Today (6 February) is the International Day for Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, Campaigners and activists will use the much needed profile that an international awareness day can bring to renew efforts to eliminate this harmful traditional practice.
Continue reading...

International Day for Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation: How Do We Make It a Day of Hope?

Today (6 February) is the International Day for Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, Campaigners and activists will use the much needed profile that an international awareness day can bring to renew efforts to eliminate this harmful traditional practice.
Continue reading...

After Gay Marriage, the Next Step Should Be Heterosexual Partnerships

MPs have acknowledged that civil partnerships don't meet all couples' needs - now they need to go a step further, and acknowledge that marriage doesn't meet the needs of all heterosexual couples.
Continue reading...

Why Advertising Agencies No Longer Exist, and Why It Doesn't Matter

My advice to Marketers is to look beyond the agency, through the positioning, and focus on the people. This is what an agency really is - a collection of talented people. No more, and no less.
Continue reading...

The Blueprint of a CEO

We discovered during our research that most people felt that the leadership challenges facing CEOs today were new. There has been a great deal of change in: the role, environment; creative people leadership and external focus.
Continue reading...

Grave Concerns: Who Owns a Corpse

My mind has been much exercised recently after reading about a case which has come to light in Edinburgh. It involved a local council and the mummified corpses of an elderly couple. Following their deaths, in 1987 and 1994 respectively, their son had them embalmed in the hope that their family home might be turned into a mausoleum.
Continue reading...